The Standard
Yusuf Haji and his supporters in October 2002. [File standard]
Many will remember Mohamed Yusuf Haji as the man who chaired the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) team, appointed by President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader, Raila Odinga. He will also be remembered as the two-term Senator for Garissa County. Yet he was much more than that, both in his public roles and in quiet behind-the-scenes tasks in Northeastern Kenya, all the way to the neighbouring countries in the north.
His suitability for the roles saw him straddle the four Kenyan regimes of Presidents Jomo Kenyatta, Daniel arap Moi, Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta. And he was always on the right side of power. This presence was, ironically, in part a factor of the Somali exclusion from the centre. But it was also a factor of his own ability to gel well with the centre and to remain relevant.